Concealed hinge for sewing machine cabinets



Nov. 14, 1961 w. HOFGESANG CONCEALED HINGE FOR SEWING MACHINE CABINETS 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 7, 1959 W J V INVENTOR. a i u; Will/amHofgesang wi l (sis- WYCLM ATTORNEY Nov. 14, 1961 w. HOFGESANG CONCEALEDHINGE FOR SEWING MACHINE CABINETS Filed D80. 7, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Fig.4

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INVENTOR.

William Hofgesang Y TTORNEY United States Patent Dfiice 3,008,178Patented Nov. 14, 1961 3,008,178 CONCEALED HINGE FOR SEWHYG MACHINECABINETS William Holgesang, Avenel, N.J., assignor to The SingerManufacturing Company, Elizabeth, N.J., a corporation of New JerseyFiled Dec. 7, 1959, Ser. No. 857,616

4 Claims. (Cl. 16-190) This invention relates to sewing machine cabinetsand tables, and more particularly to a concealed hinge especiallyadapted for use with the hinged leaf of sewing machine cabinets andtables, and the principal object of the invention is to provide animproved hinge of this nature.

Another object of the invention is to provide a hinge which will beentirely concealed when the drop-leaf of a sewing machine cabinet ortable is coextensive with the table-top of said sewing machine cabinetor table.

A further object of the invention is to provide a concealed hinge havinga spring means which will forceably draw one edge of the drop-leaf ofthe sewing machine table against the edge of the table-top of the sewingmachine table from which the drop-leaf is supported.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improvedconcealed hinge which will permit the dropleaf of a sewing machinecabinet or table to hinge through an angle of substantially 270 degrees.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved concealedhinge which will permit the drop-leaf of a sewing machine cabinet ortable to assume a position in which it lies flat on top of the tabletop.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved concealedhinge which will permit the drop-leaf of a sewing machine cabinet ortable to assume a position coplanar with the table-top or to dependtherefrom. United States Patent No. 2,883,249 discloses a collapsiblesupport for a dropleaf, the collapsible support being adapted tosupport'the drop-leaf when it is in a' raised or extended position. Theaforesaid Patent No. 2,883,249 also discloses a hinge used to attach thedropleaf to the table-top of the sewing machine table. The hinge of thepresent invention is intended to replace the hinges of the abovementioned patent.

With the above and other objects in view, as will hereinafter appear,the invention comprises the devices, combinations, and arrangements ofpants hereinafter set forth and illustrated in the accompanying drawingsof a preferred embodiment of the invention, from which the severalfeatures of the invention and the advantages attained thereby will bereadily understood by those skilled in the art.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a portion of a sewing machine tableto which a collapsable support and a concealed hinge, the latterembodying the present invention, have been applied. Full lines show thedropleaf in an extended position and dashed lines show the drop-leaf intwo other positions, one resting on the tabletop and the other dependingtherefrom,

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially on the line22 of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view, showing various parts of theconcealed hinge illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2,

FIG. 4 is an elevational sectional view taken substantially on the line46, 46 of FIG. 2 and showing the drop-leaf positioned on top of thetable-top,

FIG. 5 is an elevational sectional view taken substantially on the line55 of FIG. 2 and showing the dropleaf coplanar with the table-top, and

FIG. 6 is an elevational sectional view taken substantially on the line4-6, 4-6 of FIG. 2 and showing the drop-leaf depending from thetable-top.

The sewing machine table 16 shown in the drawings comprises a table-top17 and a drop-leaf 18, the drop-leaf 18 being hingedly connected to thetable-top 17 by means of a pair of hinges (the drawings showing only onehinge 22) embodying the present invention. The table 16 also includes anumber of unshown portions as, for example, a rail portion (not shown)for supporting the table-top 17 and a plurality of legs (not shown) forsupporting the rail portion (not shown). Reference to FIG. 1 shows thatthe drop-leaf 18 can assume any one of three difierent positions, thesepositions being indicated by the numerals 18, 18" and 18". The position18, shown in FIG. 1 by dash-dash lines, is such that the drop-leaf 18 ispositioned upside-down and thereby overlies the table-top 17. Theposition shown in FIG. 1 by solid lines and indicated by the numeral 18is such that the dropleaf 18 is coextensive with the table-top 17. Theposition shown in FIG. 1 by dash-dash lines and indicated by the numeral18" is such that the leaf 18 hangs below or depends from the table-top17.

In order to support the drop-leaf 18 in the position 18' there areprovided two collapsible supports, however, only one support 33 is shownin the drawings. Each support 33 has a common fixed central pivot-pin34, a fixed arm 36 and a movable arm 38. The fixed arm 36 is secured tothe lower surface of the table-top 17 by a plurality of wood screws 37.A depending fixed central plate 40 is secured to the end of the arm 36,and a depending fixed terminal plate 41 is secured to the terminal endof the arm 36. The plate 40 carries the previously mentioned pivot-pin34 and the plate 41 carries a fixed terminal pivot-pin 42 whichpivotally supports a first toggle leg 43. The other end of the toggleleg 43, by means of a rivet 45, is connected to one end of a secondtoggle leg 47. The other end of the toggle leg 43 extends beyond therivet 45 and at the end of the extended portion is provided with abent-lug 48 which, when the two toggle legs 43 and 47 are extended so asto be substantially in line, enters a notch 49 formed in the secondtoggle leg 47 Opposite ends of the movable arm 38 carry a dependingmovable central plate 50 and a depending movable terminal plate 51. Theplate 50 is pivoted on the previously mentioned pivot-pin 34 and theplate 51 carries a movable terminal pivot-pin 52, which pivotallysupports a third toggle leg 53, the other end of the leg 53 is, by meansof a rivet 55, connected to one end of a fourth toggle leg 57. The endof the toggle leg 53 extends beyond the rivet 55 and at the end of theextended portion is provided with a bent lug 58 which, when the twotoggle lugs 43 and 47 are extended so as to be substantially in line,enters the notch 59 formed in the toggle leg 57.

The pivot-pin 34, in addition to passing through plates 40 and 50,passes through the upper end and thus pivotally mounts a strut 61, thefree end of the strut 61 as well as the ends of the toggle legs 47 and57 remote from the rivets 45 and 55 respectively, are pivotallyconnected together by a rivet 66. While not shown in the drawing,

it will be understood that the collapsible support 33 can be folded insuch a manner that the movable arm 38 substantially coincides with thefixed arm 36. This positions all parts of the collapsible support 33beneath the table-top 17 and allows the drop-leaf 18 to assume theposition 18". On the other hand, when the collapsible support 33 is inthe solid line position shown in FIG. 1, the movable arm 38 by means ofa bumper 68 supports the drop-leaf 18 in the position 18. Thecollapsible support 33, which is fully described in Patent No.2,883,249, supra, forms no part of the present invention.

The hinge 22 embodying the present invention, comprises a fixed butt 73positioned in a hole 74 formed in the table-top 17, and the butt 73 isheld in place by a pair of screws 76. Cooperating with the fixed butt 73is a movable butt 77 positioned in a recess 78 formed in one edge of thedrop leaf 18, the movable butt 77 being secured to the drop leaf 18 by apair of screws 79. In addition to the above, the hinge 22 has a floatinglink 81, a helical tension spring 82, and pivot pins 83 and 87.

The fixed butt 73 has a pair of inwardly extending plates 88 and 89,each of which is provided with an elongated hole 91. Inwardly of theholes 9191, the plates 88 and 89 merge into one end of a part-circulartube 92 having a longitudinally extending opening or slot 93 and at itsinward end the tube 92 has a hook 94. The movable butt 77 has a pair ofinwardly extending ears 9696 each of which is provided with a circularhole 97 and the mo'vable butt 77 is provided with a forwardly extendingtongue 98 which is adapted to enter elongated notches 99-99 formed onthe plates 88 and 89 of the fixed butt 73.

When the hinge 22 is assembled, the pivot-pin 87 passes through theholes 9797 and through a hook 101 formed on one end of the floating link81. Also the pivot-pin 83 will engage the elongated holes 9191 and passthrough a pair of coaxially positioned spaced hooks 102-102 formed onthe end of the floating link 81 opposite from a hook 101. The pivot-pin83, because of the opening 103 located between the two hooks 102-102,also passes through a looped end of the tension spring 82. The other endof the tension spring 82 is provided with an eye 104 which is entered bythe hook 94 formed on the end of the tube 92. From the above, it will beunderstood that the tension spring 82 urges the hooks 102102 andpivotpin 83 to enter the space between the plates 88 and 89 and alsourges the pivot pin 83 to position itself adjacent the innermost end ofthe holes 91-91. This, of course, biases the hook 101 and the pivot pin87 toward the fixed butt 73 causing the movable butt 77 to assume theposition shown in FIG. 2. When the hinge 22 is thus assembled andpositioned, the drop-leaf 18 assumes a position coextensive with thetable-top 17 as shown in FIG. 5. Should it be desirable to move thetable-top 18 to the stored position shown in FIG. 4, the table-top 18 isswung about the hinge. This tensions the spring 82 and causes thefloating link 81 to assume the position shown in FIG. 4 with the hooks102-102 positioned between the plates 8889 and with the hook 101positioned in the recess 78. Should it be desirable to place thedrop-leaf 18 in the depending position shown in FIG. 6, the link 81assumes the depending position shown in FIG. 6, wherein the centralportion of the main body portion of the floating link 81 drops downbetween the two plates 88 and 89.

From the above, it can be seen that the hinge of the present inventionallows the drop-leaf 18 to swing through substantially 270 degrees toassume any one of three advantageously desirable positions, namely, theposition (FIG. 4) in which the drop-leaf rests on top of the tabletop17, the position (FIG. in which the drop-leaf is coextensive with thetable-top 17 or the position (FIG. 6) in which the drop-leaf dependsfrom the table-top 17.

The herein disclosed concealed hinge 22 employs a spring 82. Onefunction of this spring is to maintain the butt 77 in tight engagementwith the butt 73 when the drop-leaf 18 is in the position shown in FIG.5. It will be understood that satisfactory results could be obtained byeliminating the spring 82 and by substituting a latch or hook adapted tohold the butt 77 in tight engagement with the butt 73.

Having thus set forth the nature of the invention, what I claimhereinis:

l. A concealed hinge designed pivotal'ly to connect the drop-leaf of asewing machine cabinet or table to a tabletop thereof, said hingecomprising a fixed butt secured to said table-top, a movable buttsecured to said drop-leaf, one of said butts having a pair of elongatedholes, a floating link, means for pivotally connecting one end of saidlink to one of said butts, a pivot pin slidingly carried in said pair ofelongated holes, and means for pivotally connecting the other end ofsaid floating link to said slidably carried pivot pin.

2. A concealed hinge designed to pivotally connect the drop-leaf of asewing machine cabinet or table to a tabletop thereof, said hingecomprising, a fixed butt secured to said table-top, a movable buttsecured to said drop-leaf, a pivot pin carried by said movable butt, afloating link, means for pivotally connecting one end of said link tosaid pivot pin on said movable butt, a tension spring, means forsecuring one end of said tension spring to said fixed butt, a pivot pincarried by said fixed butt, means for connecting one end of saidfloating link to the pivot pin carried by said fixed butt, and means forconnecting the other end of said tension spring to the pivot pin carriedby the fixed butt 3. A concealed hinge designed to pivotally connect thedrop-leaf of a sewing machine cabinet or table to a tabletop thereof,said hinge comprising, a fixed butt secured to said table-top, a movablebutt secured to said drop leaf, a pivot pin carried by said movablebutt, a floating link having one of its ends engaging said pivot pin, asecond pivot pin, means for connecting said second pivot pin to theother end of said floating link, means formed as a part of said fixedbutt for carrying said second pivot pin, a tension spring, means forconnecting one end of said tension spring to the second pivot pin, andmeans for connecting the other end of said tension spring to said fixedbutt.

4. A concealed hinge designed to pivotally connect the drop-leaf of asewing machine cabinet or table to a tabletop thereof, said hingecomprising a fixed butt secured to said table-top and said fixed butthaving a pair of elongated holes extending inwardly from the face of thefixed butt, a tubular member formed on said fixed butt and positionedinwardly of said elongated holes, a hook formed on the inwardly end ofsaid tubular memher, a movable butt securely attached to said drop-leaf,a pair of apertured ears carried by said movable butt, 2 floating linkhaving on one of its ends a hook and having on its other end a pair ofcoaxially positioned spaced hooks, a pivot-pin passing through the firsthook on said floating link and engaging the apertures in the ears ofsaid movable butt, a second pivot-pin passing through the pair of spacedhooks on the floating link, opposite ends of said second pivot-pinentering the elongated holes in said fixed butt, a tension spring havingone of its ends engaging the pivot-pin at a location between the spacedhooks and the other end of said helical spring being attached to thehook formed at the end of said tubular member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

